IN THE MATTER OF THE ONTARIO HERITAGE ACT
R.S.O. 1990, CHAPTER O.18 AND
CITY OF TORONTO, PROVINCE OF
ONTARIO
1123 LESLIE STREET
NOTICE OF INTENTION TO DESIGNATE THE PROPERTY
TAKE NOTICE that Council for the
City of Toronto intends to designate the property, including the lands,
buildings and structures thereon known municipally as 1123 Leslie Street under
Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.O.18, as
amended, as a property of cultural heritage value or interest.
Reasons for Designation
The property at 1123 Leslie Street, is worthy of
designation under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act for its
cultural heritage value, and meets Ontario Regulation 9/06, the provincial
criteria prescribed for municipal designation under all the criteria of
design/physical, historical/associative and contextual value.
Description
The property at 1123 Leslie Street is located on
the east side of Leslie Street opposite Wilket Creek Park between Eglinton
Avenue East and Overland Drive and contains the former office headquarters and
plant for the William Wrigley Jr. Company. It was designed by Gordon S. Adamson
and Associates and constructed in 1962. The Canadian Architect declared the
building one of twelve significant projects for 1963-1964 and the Royal
Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) Journal also reviewed the building in
July 1963, signalling its design importance. The property at 1123 Leslie
Street, originally known as William Wrigley Jr. Company, was identified as
having cultural heritage value in the inventory included in North York's
Modernist Architecture, first published in 1997, with a revised edition in
2009.
The original 1962 office building was extended
and renovated in 2003-2004 to the designs of Sterling, Finlayson, Sweeney &
Co. Ltd. reinterpreting the 1960s Late Modern style design language. The later
2003-2004 northwest and southwest office additions are complementary to the original
Late Modern style, incorporating a number of original design features,
including the overhanging bronze eaves and ribbon windows at the second storey.
The primary entrance is located at the southwest corner of the original 1962
office building. The renovation and extension of the original office building
included new window openings on the south and west elevations and the addition
of an elevator shaft to the south elevation. The elevator added to the original
office building is considered a compatible and integral addition, which
contributes to the overall design value of the complex.
Wrigley celebrated 100 years in Canada with a
time capsule embedded in the front lobby of the building and then closed down
its operations in 2016.
Statement of Cultural
Heritage Value
The former William Wrigley Jr. Company building
has design value as an example of the characteristic Don Mills clean industrial
facility designed in a Late Modern style. It is located in a landscaped setting
accessed by a curvilinear street which represents the principles set out by the
lead planner, Macklin Hancock, and is considered a notable example of Post-War
suburban planning based on Garden City principles. The features of the Late
Modern style, prevalent in the 1960s, are present in the rectangular massing of
the structure with its deep reveals with recessed fenestration, the depth of
the overhanging roof, the varied brown, brick cladding, and the use of bronze
Anaconda "Muntz Metal" on the roof fascia and the bronze door and window
frames. In contrast to the earlier International Style of Modernism which
features a predominantly white and light aesthetic, the Late Modern
characteristics are also found in the greater sense of weight in the massing
and an increased complexity in the composition of doors and windows.
Window openings are no longer horizontal, ribbon
windows but have a much more organic variety frequently related to use. The
horizontal band of glazing just beneath the roof confirms that the walls, in
Modernist fashion, are non-load bearing. The use of concrete at the base with
pebbles and the various landscape components including the rough-hewn stone
stairs are all part of the Late Modern increased interest in texture and
nature. The later 2003-2004 additions to the offices at the west end of the
property are complementary to the original Late Modern style, incorporating a
number of original design features. The elevator shaft added to the south
elevation of the original 1962 office building and the new window openings have
remained harmonious in composition and legible as Modernist in character. The
elevator shaft is considered a compatible and integral addition which
contributes to the overall design value of the complex.
The complex is valued for its high degree of
craftsmanship and artistic merit which is evident in the composition of the
massing and apertures as well as the selection of materials which provide a
high degree of variety. The property's artistic merit was recognized when it
was completed as it was selected by the Canadian Architect as one of the twelve
most significant projects for 1963-1964, praising it for its "poetic
expression."[1]
It was also reviewed in the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada
Journal in 1963.[2]
The former William Wrigley Jr. Company property
has cultural heritage value as it is historically associated with the 1950s
planning and development of Don Mills by E. P. Taylor and Don Mills
Developments Ltd. with the lead planner Macklin Hancock which was a notable
example of Post-War suburban planning based on Garden City principles and its
design encouraged the establishment of businesses on the periphery of the
residential neighbourhood as part of a goal for self-sufficiency and local
employment. It is also valued for its association with the popularly renowned
William Wrigley Jr. gum company, established in the United States, in Chicago,
in 1891. Wrigley would become the largest gum manufacturer in the world and
opened its Canadian branch in Toronto on Carlaw Avenue in 1911. Further, it is
valued for its association with the architectural practice of Gordon S. Adamson
+ Associates (later known as Adamson + Associates) who, following World War II,
became outstanding leading and award-winning Modernist architects.
Although not part of the original plan for Don
Mills, located on a sloping ground facing Wilket Creek Park on the east side of
Leslie Street, the subject property at 1123 Leslie Street has contextual value
as its low-rise, modernist building in a landscaped setting represents the two
design principles that define the mid-20th century Garden City values of the
Don Mills development. It maintains and defines the character of the Don Mills
area and is visually, physically and historically linked to its surroundings in
this part of Don Mills as it developed through the 1950s-1960s establishing its
landscaped campus headquarters character.
Heritage Attributes
Design or Physical Value
The heritage attributes that contribute to the
value of the property as a representative example of a Late Modernist office
headquarters and plant are:
·
The scale, form and
massing of the two-storey complex with its flat and deep overhanging eaves
including the original 1962 office building and the elevator shaft added to the
south elevation of the original office building in 2003-2004
·
The materials,
including the varied brown brick and bronze coloured metal cladding
·
The bronze or
bronze-coloured metal window and door frames
·
The primary entrance
on the south elevation of the original 1962 office building
·
The arrangement of
the windows on the west and south elevations including the long narrow windows
at the soffit line
·
The deeply recessed
areas of the west and south elevations of the original 1962 office building
Historical or Associative Value
The following heritage attributes contribute to
the cultural heritage value of the property at 1123 Leslie Street as the former
office headquarters and plant for William Wrigley Jr. Company and as an example
of Post-War suburban planning:
·
The setback,
placement and orientation of the building on the east side of Leslie Street
just north of Eglinton Avenue East
Contextual Value
The following heritage attributes contribute to
the cultural heritage value of the property at 1123 Leslie Street as defining
and maintaining the character of the Don Mills area, and as being visually,
physically and historically linked to its surroundings:
·
The setback,
placement and orientation of the building on the east side of Leslie Street
just north of Eglinton Avenue East
·
The scale, form and
massing of the two-storey complex with its flat and deep overhanging eaves
including the original 1962 office building and the elevator shaft added to the
south elevation of the original office building in 2003-2004
·
The landscaped
setting facing Leslie Street including grass lawns, low shrubs and trees
·
The landscaping
elements including the rough-hewn stone stairs at the primary entrance on the
south elevation of the original 1962 office building, the planter on the south
side of the primary entrance, and the concrete base of the original office
building
NOTE: The rear manufacturing facility, which has
been extended and modified over time is not included in the heritage
attributes, which pertain to the front offices as indicated above.
Notice of Objection to the Notice of Intention to Designate
Notice of an objection to the Notice of
Intention to Designate the Property may be served on the City Clerk, Attention:
Administrator, Secretariat, City Clerk's Office, Toronto City Hall, 2nd Floor
West, 100 Queen Street West, Toronto, Ontario, M5H 2N2.; Email: hertpb@toronto.ca within thirty days of June 20, 2023, which is July 20, 2023. The notice
of objection to the Notice of Intention to Designate the Property must set out
the reason(s) for the objection and all relevant facts.
Getting Additional Information:
Further information in respect of the Notice of
Intention to Designate the Property is available from the City of Toronto at:
https://secure.toronto.ca/council/agenda-item.do?item=2023.PH4.3
Dated at the City of Toronto on June 20, 2023.
John D. Elvidge
for City Clerk